Prince William, Kate Middleton Reunite With King Charles And Camilla For Carriage Procession

The new royal "Fab Four" joined forces Tuesday for the first state visit of King Charles' reign.

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla were joined by Prince William and Kate Middleton in an elaborate horse-drawn carriage procession for the monarch's first state visit. They carried out a full ceremonial welcome for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The president's wife, first lady Dr. Tshepo Motsepe, was listed by Buckingham Palace when the visit was announced in October, but he arrived without her, People reported.

The South African leader rode with King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla in the Irish State Coach, the traditional coach that the British monarch uses to travel from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster to formally open the new legislative session of the U.K. Parliament.

King Charles' late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, also rode the same carriage when she traveled with her father King George VI to Westminster Abbey on her 1947 wedding to Prince Philip.

The Prince and Princess of Wales were in the Australian State Coach with South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor. The carriage was a gift to Queen Elizabeth from Australia in May 1988 to mark the Australian Bicentennial.

They enjoyed the carriage ride up the famous Mall, which was decorated with the flags of the two nations. The carriage ride took place after a parade of hundreds of soldiers and music on the Horse Guards Parade earlier that day.

The royal family shared a clip of the carriage procession via Twitter.

"The State Visit Carriage Procession, made up of the President of South Africa, The King, The Queen Consort, and The Prince and Princess of Wales, arrives at Buckingham Palace," the caption read.

The clip received mixed responses from social media users. Some found the pomp impressive, while others thought it was excessive.

"I think this is too extravagant. The royal family should be more of a role model in these modern times, and be more sensitive to the current economic misery in the U.K.," one commented.

"It's a state visit which we always roll out the red carpet for. Plus this extravagance brings in the money into the local economy with tourists watching it so it is already paying for itself much much more than it has cost to do this," another added.

"Love all the pomp!! No one does it better than the U.K.," a royal fan wrote. A different user agreed, saying: "It's the best! (Coming from an American)."

In the evening, the four senior royals dressed up for the state banquet at Buckingham Palace in honor of the guest. Middleton wore a Jenny Packham gown and paired it with her favorite Lover's Knot tiara.

Queen Consort Camilla, for her part, honored Queen Elizabeth at the banquet by wearing the late monarch's Belgian Sapphire tiara as well as its coordinating necklace and bracelet.